Sir Prize and Miss Fortune
by Sleepy-Sleepy
Summary: My own collection of One-Shots ranging from fluff to angst. Number 6: Nothing lasts forever, but maybe one can hope to prolong their feeble existence.
1. Fearless

**A/N:** **One-shot fics that I'm going to vomit out here in a giant cluster of nothingness because I'm that obsessed and I feel sick and I can't focus on other major stories at the moment. Stories range from fluff to angst and unfortunately tragedy. This first one starts off** **as a Highschool AU.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I don't own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin.**

 **#1. He is Fearless.**

"Annie!"

The short, blonde girl known as Annie Leonhardt barely raised her head at the sound of her name being called. Her eyes narrowed and her brows scrunched together making it seem like she was annoyed. And she was, to an extent.

Trotting up to her with an arm full of snacks was none other than Armin Arlert, Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman's beloved childhood friend. One whom many, including her, wondered why he would ocassionally hang out with the infamous "Lone Wolf".

She scoffed, closing her eyes and lowered her head back down to the table's smooth and boring surface as the boy quickly joined her, sliding in at her side and dumping the snacks out in front of them.

"Jaeger and his girl ditch again?" she asked with a bored tone.

Armin only smiled and picked out a bag of chips from the pile.

"Eren's father finally got a break from work and they've been dying to go out as a family for a while. They couldn't possibly pass up an opportunity."

Annie only hummed as she grabbed a small candy bar and silently began to rip away the wrappings.

"So how come you didn't go?" she asked as she bit off a piece knowing full well that the trio always went everywhere together.

"Exams are coming up!" he chirped as if the answer was obvious.

She scoffed at him."Whatever."

She suddenly heard an annoyingly loud crinkle of paper come up close to her face. Her eyes snapped open in a murderous glare and those within the table's vicinity flinched at the animosity of it. Except, of course for Armin.

"Want some?"

There was a moment where even the chatter of other students quieted and almost everyone was staring at the interactions between the two, waiting with baited breath.

Armin, however, never seemed to feel the heavy atmosphere weigh down on him. He just looked at her, met her icy glare with his own eyes reflecting nothing but childish warmth.

Annie stared at him for a moment longer, her glare never leaving her, the tense air never lifting as she slowly raised her hand and shoved it down the opening of the bag of chips, grabbing a fistful with a force that screamed hostility.

Boys in neighboring tables gulped nervously and girls whispered fearful concerns for the oblivious blond male.

The two, however, continued on unbothered. Annie grunted and Armin's smile widened even more, taking the gruff sound as a small "Thank you".

Many assumed that the boy was being Blackmailed into getting snacks for her, many also thought that he was being bullied and that his cheerful appearance was nothing more than a facade to keep his two close friends from catching wind of their seemingly rigid encounters.

Annie Leonhardt was not a friendly sort. She kept to herself and had her own group of "friends" she would often go to. Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover were the more common ones she's hang out with.

Obviously, the trio were not a group one would want to mess with, but the two had their fair share of popularity. Reiner was an easygoing guy, easy to talk to and befriend and Bertholdt was friendly as well, if not a little skittish at first. But Annie was nowhere near as approachable, if there was no reason for her to talk, then she wouldn't talk. Idle chit chat was not something she'd like to indulge in when there was no point, even if her knuckleheaded friends insisted she try.

Which was why they were very grateful for Armin's ocassional visits.

"Hello, Annie." he chirped one morning as he jogged on over to where she leaned against the wall right beside the girl's locker room area.

Her quiet morning of dozing was broken far too early and she all but scowled at the boy.

Armin didn't seem to notice as he stood beside her with a small, friendly smile. "How are you?" he asked genuinely.

"Sleepy." she huffed, her blazing eyes trying to convey her obvious annoyance. Something that Armin failed to notice and if he had, he didn't think anything of it and continued the conversation.

"Really? What time did you go to bed?"

"None of your business." she growled, but he only chuckled lightly, his eyes closing in humorous delight.

"I guess so, huh?" Annie only scoffed at him again.

"Did you eat breakfast?"

She shook her head. "School's food sucks."

"That's true, but it's still pretty early. The pancakes aren't really that bad." He leaned forward, his head dipping to try and meet her eyes. "They're really good once you give them a try." he insisted, his inquisitive gaze finally connecting with her glare.

"You wanna bet?"

"Sure!" he beamed.

She shot him a hard glare. She hated the school's breakfast ever since she last tried their weird concoction known as an omelet. And dear merciful heavens above of culinary arts was it the most foul tasting omelet to ever spill over her tastebuds.

Their eyes held onto each other, hers an adamant challenge and his nothing more than sincere eagerness. His smile never wavered and there was an odd dust of pink lightly flushing his cheeks. His eyes did not betray an ounce of fear or hesitance, rather they held a playful tinge to their normal ocean blues making them appear bright and gentle like the slow laps at a shore's edge.

"Twenty bucks it tastes like sweaty pits worse than when Reiner works out. Fifty if it tastes like Bertholdt's sweat."

Armin only laughed and jumped from his spot, excitedly grabbing her hand. The motion made her jerk her head up in shock but was quickly erased once they started moving towards the cafeteria..

"How do you know how someone else's sweat tastes like?" he asked, laughing loud when she punched him hard on the shoulder.

"We don't speak of it." she ground out and Armin only giggled, already knowing how such a thing occurred.

Needless to say, Armin owed Annie a hefty eighty bucks. She spat out the pancakes faster than it takes a lightning bolt to strike and immediately criticized that it tasted worse than either of her bets and added ten bucks extra for her horrible experience. It was also the last time she ever ate school food. Armin didn't mind paying up the next day.

The two were an odd pair of friends. Their conversations were hushed and quiet save for the rare occasion that others would join at their table such as Armin's close friends or Annie's.

Eren and Mikasa were hesitant at first and it didn't help that Annie didn't exactly make a good impression of herself either, but Armin insisted that she was really a good person.

They never became convinced after an argument broke out and they would often warn him not to associate with her, but little Armin Arlert never listened. He promised that he could prove to them she was really nice.

But Annie didn't cooperate with him either.

On more than one occurence, she would often butt heads with Mikasa in competitive matches in gym leaving both girls sore and edgy towards each other.

In a game of dodgeball Annie had aimed directly at the Asian's head, but having reflexes of a feline, she dodged. Instead the cruel object had hit Armin, knocking him straight down and giving him a bruising bloody nose. When everyone looked at her with expectant looks searching for an apology, she only gave them an indifferent scoff with matching cold eyes.

An action that Ackerman didn't miss.

Other times she would fight with Eren and usually they were completely irrational and mostly just the boy's aggressive outbursts. Conflicts like that were harmless at best.

Despite it all, Armin didn't give up. He still met up with her, went out of his way to accompany her when Reiner and Bertholdt could not and was generally being her friend all around.

It was starting to get to her, she didn't know what he saw in her that made him want to approach her, but he still did. He walked up to her, spoke with her, tried to play around with her and eat with her at lunch. All smiles and nice and being the gentle boy that he was. He never got too close into her space, never pushed her buttons for information he knew he was not privy to and always got her snacks.

And what did she do?

Constantly glare at him, question him, criticize him of his weaknesses and so on and so forth. She never understood how he had just taken it all with a smile, but she was beginning to accept him had it not been for one small incident that truly wasn't the blond boy's fault.

The day had not been going well, she had gotten in a fight with her father just before school. She ended up being late to her first period class and got viciously chewed out by Shadis for it, running laps constantly until the end of the period. Piles of homework built up from one class after another, she felt she'd drown from it all and now, now she was running late and she had to go to her locker for a much needed textbook.

Her combination lock simply would not open for her.

Armin had been with her, tagging along after bumping into her when going to his next class, completely unperturbed by the prospect of being late.

"It's only one tardy, I'm sure Ms. Hange won't mind this once." he reasoned and she had brushed him off and continued on her way.

"Um, Annie?" he poked her shoulder to which she irritably shoved off.

"What?"

"I can help you, if you want." he offered.

"No." she snapped, messing up her numbers once more. She cursed and tried again. Students running on by or lazily prolonging their walk, were growing smaller and smaller and yet, Armin still stayed.

"Are you sure?" he asked, uncertain.

She could feel his eyes look at her, no doubt filled with concern she did not need at the moment.

"Your class is with Levi, right? I'm sure I can help you get your book in time before the tardy bell." he tried again, inching closer to her.

He didn't seem to notice her growing irritation or see the warning signals she was giving with her silence. Of course Levi would have her head if she came tardy _or_ without a book. The man was strict with his rules; they were practically absolute and if one failed to realize this, he'd punish him with an hour of detention and another hour of them cleaning the classroom. Both were neither of what she wanted to do. To top it all off, her head was boiling hot with anger and Armin was not helping at all.

She huffed heavily when once again, her lock didn't budge. She angrily yanked it before trying once more.

"Annie-"

She broke.

Annie quickly turned on her heel and banged her forehead against the boy's, holding herself there and glaring daggers into his shocked and tearing eyes.

"Listen you little twerp, I said I didn't need your help. I can do it just fine by myself!" she barked, shoving her head further against him before shoving him away from her with a push of her arms, knocking him to the ground. He let out a surprised cry and hit his head hard against the concrete.

But Annie continued with her outburst, disregarding his pained yelp. "Why do you insist on helping me anyway? It's not like I've done anything to deserve it. Why follow me around, huh? Did it ever occur in that large head of yours that I don't want to be bothered by anyone much less by someone who won't shut up?"

At this point, Reiner and Bertholdt were walking down the hall fully intent on ditching their class when they heard the commotion.

"Get this into your thick skull, nerd. Leave me alone, Arlert!"

They watched as Annie slammed her fist hard against her locker and stomped off, leaving the boy and her book.

The two larger teens quickly reached Armin, their eyes warily watching the angry female stomp off with the screaming bell announcing their tardiness.

"Hey man, you okay?"

Armin was quiet for a moment, his hand gingerly touching his forehead as he stared in the direction Annie had left.

"A-Armin?"

He snapped out of it when he heard Bertholdt.

"Oh, y-yeah I'm fine. It doesn't hurt."

The two friends glanced at each other worriedly when they saw patches of red and purple mingle on the boy's forehead.

"We should take you to the nurse, just to make sure you're really okay." Reiner suggested, pulling Armin up gently.

"N-no really, it's okay. I should probably just go."

Before he could leave, Bertholdt grabbed his wrist. "H-hey... um... Please don't take it too personally. Annie's... Annie's just stressed, I'm sure she didn't mean it. I mean... well..."

Armin smiled at them and pulled away. "I understand, I just overstepped my boundaries. I'm sorry for troubling you guys as well."

The two could only watch as Armin quickly walked away to get to his next class.

"He really should get that checked out though, Annie's a beast."

"Reiner..."

"What? It's true!"

Safe to say, Annie felt horrible afterwards. Steam was still fuming out of her ears as she suffered through the lectures and the detention. Going home after the day didn't make her feel any better. While punching a boxing bag did relieve some stress, she knew what she had done was wrong. Armin didn't deserve that, but she couldn't take back her actions. She had hit his head rather hard too. There was probably a really nasty bruise already ruining his face and people pointing it out and whispering things.

'I shouldn't have head butted him.' she grumbled to herself.

The following day, Annie felt someone bump up gently against her shoulder as they sat beside her at lunch. She sighed, Reiner and Bertholdt had been bugging her nonstop about her snap against Armin.

"Bertholdt what the hell-" she stopped herself as a familiar pair of blue eyes met hers. "You." Her voice was icy, were it anyone else they would've flinched, but Armin just smiled tentatively.

"H-hi." he greeted quietly. Annie looked past him to the table he usually sat with his friends. Eren and Mikasa were watching, sending her dirty looks to which she equally retaliated.

"Do you want some?" he asked, bringing her attention back at him with the snacks he usually brought.

She looked at his face and found a large white patch covering the bruise she had left him. She could see small hints of purple and green peek over the edges and she felt a stab of guilt sink into her. Her frown deepened at his offer, but she didn't say anything only letting her chin rest at her palm with her eyes defiantly looking away from him.

Armin frowned and looked down at the junk food. He picked out a small bag of chips and quietly opened it.

"Am I bugging you?" he suddenly asked.

Blue eyes widened and she twisted her head around to stare at him.

"Right now, I mean. Am I bugging you?"

She grunted and turned away from him again, leaving his question unanswered.

Armin sighed and turned away, eating his chips slowly.

She glanced at him and noticed his eyes staring down at the table with a hurt expression. That easy going smile he usually wore around her was absent. His welcoming eyes had dimmed to a lonely gaze and she found herself thinking that the look just didn't suit him. His once energetic movements had dulled to a sluggish pace and the warm atmosphere that he always seemed to radiate had dissipated into something dark, gloomy and sad. It wasn't heavy, just a bit depressing considering the boy was always happy around her.

She sighed and banged her hands loud against the table as she lifted herself up, muttered something under her breath and left soon after, leaving a stunned and confused Armin behind.

He watched her leave and let out his own saddened sigh of his own. He was about to pick himself up and depart as well, but he stopped once he noticed her bag still sitting where she had left it. Confused, Armin sat himself back down and continued munching on his chips, taking it upon himself to watch her personal belongings while she was away.

When Annie came back Armin was about to ask her where she had gone, but before he could make a sound, he stopped himself.

'She's probably still upset.' he thought as he turned his head away and continued eating. He didn't want to anger her anymore, so he kept to himself.

Annie quirked a curious brow up obviously expecting the boy to question her, but when he said nothing she felt an odd weight of disappointment fill her. She shook it off and went on with her plan.

"Here." she mumbled, thrusting something to the boy's face and nicking it at his nose.

He flinched at the sudden coldness and looked at her with wide eyes.

She presented him with a single ice cream cone.

"I'm..." she started, but struggled with the words. She looked away from him as she continued to hold onto the cone. "I'm sorry for snapping at you like that... And for head butting you." Her voice had lowered as she went and she chanced glancing up at him. He still looked confused. "I'm sorry for hurting you..." she mumbled lowly, her cheeks growing warm.

She then felt warm hands gently take her apology and she looked up warily. Armin wore the widest grin as he took the treat from her and laughed in relief. Releif because she wasn't mad at him anymore.

"Thank you, Annie!" His smile grew, but he didn't look away just yet. "But where's yours?" he asked curiously as he tried to look over at her other hand to see if she was hiding it.

She huffed at him impatiently. "I only had enough for one."

The playful smile didn't leave him. "Really? After all that money I got you from that bet?"

"Walking on thin ice, Arlert." she warned as she turned away from him again to rest on her palm.

Annie flinched when she felt something incredibly cold touch her cheek. When she turned to berate the culprit, her lips and nose crashed into the frozen treat, getting vanilla all over her face.

"Do you want some of mine?" he offered playfully.

She let out an annoyed "Hmph" before taking a generous bite out of the sweet. Armin just smiled and scooted closer to her, pulling out a napkin and wiping the ice cream from her face.

From the students point of view, it looked as if Annie might bite off his hand for touching her so intimately and it looked as if her flushed face was out of incontrollable fury.

However, from their seats far from the two blondes table, Eren only looked confused while Mikasa huffed at the obvious display of affection.

"Armin's pretty brave to go after Annie of all people." Eren mused as he bit into his sandwich. "It looks like she's gonna murder him at any moment now."

"That, or Annie's just thinking of ways to corner him into being her special slave."

Eren and everyone else at their table grew quiet and stared at the Asian girl as she calmly continued eating her lunch.

"You're playing around, right?" Connie asked after a moment, him and everyone else looking up to glance at the blonde pair. "She's seriously joking, right? Reiner?"

The burly male only held his hands up in surrender.

"Bertholdt?"

"Uh, um... Annie's... probably just shy with him?" he guessed with a nervous smile.

"Armin is such a brave soul!" Sasha silently saluted her friend with false tears bubbling up from her eyes with Connie closely following her actions.

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N:** **Can you tell how horrible I am at this? Yes? Alright, making sure. Ugh, my head is throbbing... Anyway hope you enjoyed this... thing. I'm probably going to write more poorly made One-shots after posting this to follow after it, so until then I guess...**


	2. Hair

**A/N:** **Yeah,** **this will never happen in a million years. Why am I even doing this? My brain is so weird when fogged up with aches and pains.**

 **#2. His Hair is Soft.**

Armin had no idea what had led him to the Girl's Barracks on a rare day off, but he was sure this was against the rules. He was sitting on one of the beds, legs crossed and arms fidgeting with the creases of his clothes. His bottom lip was caught in his teeth as he worried over his current position.

None of them were paying him much mind, although sometimes one or two of the clusters of females would glance over in his direction and then turn away giggling.

He had no idea what that was about and even less when he felt his face flare up in a involuntary blush. He groaned, Mikasa wasn't here. The moment they all recieved their sudden little break she had run off to join Eren in whatever he was doing. And he'd like to think that he would've been part of it had it not been for a certain blonde girl dragging him back from his way over.

"Stop moving."

A small "Eep!" left him as his body tensed at her voice.

The blush on his face spread wider as he now became aware that there were hands in his hair and fingers weaving through his scalp.

Nobody questioned Annie as she dragged the boy into the room with rows of bunks occupied by various gossiping females. Not one single soul pointed them out and Armin thought it a little odd that they all just seemed to accept it when he knew that if anyone like Jean or Reiner were to enter they'd gang up on them in a instant. Bombard them with questions and then shove them away to enjoy their day in peace.

He sighed, sinking his head into his shoulders.

"Stop. Moving." Annie warned once more, her tone dangerously lowering making the blond boy flinch.

"Sorry." he whispered, but he had no idea why.

Annie huffed at him and continued running her fingers through his short hair.

Her face betrayed nothing as she continued with her combing. Her eyes empty of any sort of emotion as she looked over her work of pulling and positioning Armin's hair in various styles, all of which never lasted since it was still too short. Sitting beside her talking comfortably with other girls was Mina, but amidst her chat, the girl would sneak glances at the two of them on occasion, smiling softly to herself.

She knew better than to question Annie about her quirks, but she wouldn't deny that it was adorable to see.

Besides, who knew Annie liked to play with hair?

Regardless, she resumed her work and no one bugged her.

His hair was soft and was pleasant to feel skimming through her fingertips. No tangles ever disrupted her glinding hands and she had to wonder if he made sure it was always like that. Just with a glance at Jaeger during training and she could see clumps of dark brown mat together from sweat mixing in with the mud and dirt and yet, she'd never seen Armin even close to resembling his friend, in or out of training. Other boys were also in the same boat with Springer as an obvious exception, but Armin seemed to avoid it all. He probably had his fair share of hair problems though, but so far the guy seemed adamant on steering clear of such things.

Still, she found herself appreciating his seemingly meaningless efforts of maintaining his mane.

When she found his head tucking closer into his shoulders again, she removed her wandering hands briefly to pick his head up, earning a surprised squeak and a flush of red burning his ears.

She smirked. She knew he was probably feeling self conscious considering his surroundings, but really she felt he had nothing to worry about. Most of the girls respected Armin for his intellect and his nature of being a gentleman whereas the majority of the males were too rowdy, too loud and too stupid to show half the consideration Armin did. And if someone wanted to make fun of him, especially in front of her, she'd smack a good one right in their pretty little faces.

"Relax." she commanded softly, planting her fingers firmly into the sides of his head to ease him up a bit.

Armin sighed again, feeling his face burn hot from his blush and tried to follow her demands. Try as he may though, it was very, _very_ hard to relax with someone playing with his hair. He could feel her digits rub at his skin underneath his hair and then feel them gently pull and weave his hair. It was relaxing, or it would've been were he not so hyper-aware of whom was doing it.

'What would the others say about this?' he thought to himself as he closed his eyes miserably.

"They wouldn't say a damn thing." he heard her mutter. Armin jolted up.

"Y-you heard me?" he whispered fearfully.

"Well, you're not exactly quiet when trapped in your own head." she replied, never letting her eyes leave her current task. "Besides, does it matter? No one cares anyway."

It was probably the way her voice stayed neutral when she spoke that made the blond begin to lower his guard. It also helped that none of the girls seemed to notice or hear their quiet conversation which further calmed him. None of their eyes pointed him out, their postures were slack and their expressions told him that they were far too engrossed in whatever topic their gossip had entered. Of course, none of it was even remotely related to him or the girl behind him.

Slowly, the tension began to drift away from his shoulders and he closed his eyes to try once again to think nothing of what was currently happening. As time went on and the voices ranged from various volumes, Armin started to feel his mind go blank.

His mind focused on Annie's fingers, or rather how they felt, how slow they were moving and untangling tangles that were not there. How she would pull and bind several strands into small ponytails from any direction only to let it go and try something else. It was pleasant to feel such a slow and calm sensation run through his head, it soothed his usually rattled mentality and forced him into a sort of tranquility that he had not known for quite some time.

He didn't even notice that her hands had moved from his scalp, but he still felt her fingers grasping some strands, twisting them, straightening them until he heard the subtle snaps of a rubber band.

"I'm done." she finally said as she pulled away from him.

Armin blinked, his eyes feeling heavy from her treatment. He blinked a few times, his hand coming up to touch and pat down his hair.

Annie bristled at him, her eyes warning him that if he ruined whatever she had done, he would be flipped right here and now onto the hard, wooden floor.

He touched his head softly, his eyes hesitantly leaving her as he tried to find out what she'd done.

"Oh." he mumbled as he caught the smooth texture of his hair pulled tight into a small braid right at the side of his face.

She hummed as she watched him play around with her work, a satisfied shine entering her usually cold gaze.

Armin smiled, it really wasn't so bad. He kind of dared to find it cute. Of course he still wasn't sure of it, but Annie seemed to enjoy doing it and he supposed it didn't really matter what he thought about himself being her guinea pig. So he wouldn't question it, even if there were plenty of other girls she could've interacted with about this sort of thing.

"You're really talented aren't you, Annie?" he smiled at her warmly, but she didn't respond. She just looked away, her bored expression returning.


	3. Paralyzed

**A/N: Oops, I was hoping this would be shorter... Sorry? Anyway, thank you very much for your feedback! I honestly didn't think anyone would enjoy these all that much. Everyone else makes it seem so easy making One-Shots, but it's not! I'm horrible at this, but I cherish your opinions, at least you enjoy it just a little bit. :) So, this one is a touchy one, more so for me. I won't spoil anything yet, but just read and you'll probably see what I mean. **

**_Warning: There might be a bit o OoC-ness. I tried to stay true to the characters as best I could, but I have no idea how I did. Feel free to Criticize._**

 **#3. She is Fearful.**

Her eyes snap open silently as an ominous presence slowly makes itself known. Her once calm and rhythmic breathing is caught in her throat as her vision, usually blurred upon awakening, clearly makes out the black silhouettes of her furniture in the tense darkness. She lies on her side, her head stiff despite the comfort of her pillow coaxing her to go back to sleep.

A luxury she isn't allowed.

Her breathing continues, but it is ragged and short. Her nostrils flare as she tries to catch some sort of scent, anything to clue her in on the suddenly strange setting. Confusion fights with rationality as her eyes dart through the room. There is no light save for the moon's faint glow peeking through her curtains.

A strange and ancient feeling suddenly grabs her, tightening it's hold like a giant squeezing the life out of its prey for the sheer enjoyment of it all. Her chest rises and falls more frantically now as everything slowly starts to clear at an agonizing pace.

She is frozen, her limbs limp and unresponsive even though her brain wills her muscles to move, but its like a weight unlike any she's ever felt has captured her, holding her and mocking her. The strength many have praised and cursed her for was lost to her now.

Annie couldn't move and the mere thought of it accompanied with the growing presence left her panicked and fearful. Her eyes, the only part of her free to use, darted everywhere, raking their wide gaze for some sort of answer until they landed on something that made her heart stop and her blood run cold.

She had no idea how she could have missed it, though it could've been the confusion of being suspended or the unsettling fear making her overlook it. Even so, she felt her reasonings were useless, there was no excuse for anyone to miss a tall mass of black towering over them at the foot of their bed even in the dead of night.

Her gaze stuck to the mass as she tried to remember how to breathe, but her mouth wouldn't open and her nose was beginning to burn with how much air she was sucking in. The voice in her head screamed at her to get up and punish whoever had the gall to invade her home, but her limbs still didn't budge.

'Get up!' she screeched internally, her eyes widening as she caught the stranger twitch.

'Get. Up.'

He had no eyes. His body blended together like a child's crude drawing of a person's shadow.

'Get up...'

Her fears ran rampant as she caught the figure twitch some more, edging itself closer.

If she were able to, a noise would've left her; a snarl, a whimper or a sob.

She felt so weak, so vulnerable to whoever this was that was creeping ever closer to her still form. Her eyes stayed fixed to him, trying to fight with looks alone, but her glares and murderous aura did nothing to stop his advance. Her body shook within itself, her chest fluttering with such fear she could feel the tears bubble up at the ducts.

He promised evil things as his hand now pressed into her throat, large and unusually slim fingers curling over it. Annie didn't need to see his face to know it. A thick fog of terror enveloped her, prickling her skin and chilling her soul. There were so many things that could happen to her and she wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it.

'Get off me!' she wanted to scream, to growl and deliver the most devastating beating she had ever given. She would murder whoever this pathetic soul was.

Her fear didn't ebb, but her anger had come back with a vengeance. Were she able to, her lips would curl and her face would twist into a grimace that promised a fate worse than death. The tears finally tipped over the edge of her lids leaving a cold trail to slide down over the bridge of her nose and into her other eye to saturate the pillow beneath her.

The pressure built up, her breathing became shallow. That ever encroaching body now towered directly above her and still she could not move her head. He was staring down at her, taking in her vulnerability and suddenly a faint humming sound reached her acute hearing. The volume of it slowly increased and as it did so, her body became flushed with an unnerving hot tingling sensation. The stare from the shadow above never left her, but his form slowly dispersed, stretching wide to dissolve into the shadows of her nightstand and drawers.

Her shoulder twitched.

A sob escaped her and her chest violently heaved, starved for the oxygen her lungs craved.

Her hands grabbed her forearms and she held onto herself as she curled inward, tucking her knees into her chest and shoving her face deep into her comforting pillow.

That presence was gone, but her fear was prominent and suffocating.

The following nights were hell. Annie couldn't sleep, she lived by herself and she didn't have many belongings which made her rather small and cramped apartment seem colossal in her eyes. The moon's light made the floors stretch and the shadows of inanimate objects create creatures that weren't real. Some of them even looked like the one entity that felt real.

She would not sleep. She felt threatened, she felt eyes that should not be there, and she even felt subtle touches in those hours she was supposed to be resting. No, Annie Leonhardt would not sleep and she would make damn sure she didn't.

Obviously, this pattern did a number on her health, both physically and mentally.

"-nie. Annie, hey Annie!"

She jolted upright when a timid hand gently touched her shoulder, her arm's sudden jerk disturbing the cup of coffee she had beside her.

"What?" she snarled at the voice.

Armin tilted his head, pulling away the glasses he had on to look at her.

"You don't look well, if you're tired we can stop here and go home for the day. This subject is going to take a while anyway."

Her answer was immediate. "No."

The boy blinked, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. "No? Annie, you look like you're about to collapse. Listen, I know you don't want to fail this project, but working yourself ragged won't help you, in fact it'll only hurt your score. Eren's done it enough times for me to know."

"No Armin, I won't stop." she sighed, her hands coming up to rub her temple. "If you want to stop and go home, feel free. I, on the other hand, will finish this right now, this evening or well into the night. I don't care."

"Annie," The girl quickly shot up her hand for him to stop, her stiff posture reeking of death should the blond so much as try to fight her. Armin slowly nodded his head knowing she wasn't going to listen to him about the work, but there was something else bothering him. "Annie, at least tell me what's wrong. You haven't been yourself lately. What happened?"

She caught him trying to meet her gaze and she scowled at him. "Nothing, just haven't been sleeping well. Nothing so bad."

Armin could tell she was lying through her teeth. Her eyes had sunken in their sockets and there were dark shadows edging underneath them and growing with each passing day. Plus she was just dozing off in the middle of the day in a coffee shop and it wasn't just now, he's caught her plenty of other times as well. Of course, he didn't think much of it and quickly thought it to be some stress building up, but now... Well, now he thought it something a bit more serious and he was becoming worried.

He stared at her for a moment, watching as she rubbed at her eyes irritably. When she stopped and leaned her head tiredly against her fist, he reached for her other unoccupied hand. She looked at him, her eyes hard as he gently ran a comforting thumb over her knuckles.

"Okay, well how about you spend the night at my place and we can finish some stuff there?" he offered with a small smile.

Annie froze. Sure she had done that many times before and it had never been an issue, but Armin's place was darker at night and his curtains were made of thick materials that effectively blocked any light coming from outside even in broad daylight. She wouldn't be able to see so clearly in the darkness of his room. She wouldn't see the silhouettes of shadows, she wouldn't know where it would be without any light.

"Uh... N-no. I'll be fine."

Now that worried the boy; Annie never declined an offer to spend time together and she would often be the one to invite him. Something was wrong.

"Please?" he begged, dropping his head to lean against his arm. She glared at him, but her visage slipped and Armin caught that moment of terror internally plaguing her.

"No." she repeated, but the word sounded hollow. She shouldn't be bugging him with meaningless nightmares when there were more pressing matters to tend to nowadays. Even if she knew that she would probably feel a whole lot better if he were beside her, holding her with his arms promising protection from whatever it was that tried to hurt her.

It was so tempting, but it wouldn't be fair to rob him of his sleep if she were to accidently slip and get caught again. He didn't need it and heaven knows she didn't need it either, but the fact of the matter was that she had to deal with it.

Armin frowned and Annie hated how she saw that pang of hurt flash through his bright blue eyes.

"Why not? Are you having guests over?"

"No." Again her voice faltered and she knew he caught it.

"Annie." he sighed, growing a little tired of her stubbornness. "I'm coming over." He stated simply, looking down at her hand and continued stroking over her digits.

"Armin." she warned, her eyes narrowing and her hand pulling away from his own.

He held fast onto her, his eyes meeting hers, but there was a new light to his stare. It wasn't dark or intimidating nor was it pleading with her; he was scutinizing her, his eyes digging deeper and it was as if he already knew. Annie scoffed and though her proud determination prevented her from showing her emotions, she couldn't deny the anxiety slowly fueling her nervous heart.

She hoped he would eventually go home after their studies.

Annie did her best to prolong their work, finishing half of the project almost in record time, but the sun had long since fallen by then. It was getting late and both of them were fighting sleep, yet still she tried to persuade Armin into pushing their limit and finish the whole deal.

"Annie, I admire your determination, but I don't even spend all night on work."

"You did that one time with the cliché volcano project."

He sputtered at her. "T-that was because I was paired with Eren and he tried to switch it to actual fire. A-and it was due the next day, this one's due in two weeks. We have plenty of time, in fact I'd say we'll be done with this before then." He pouted at her with his arms crossed, but to Annie, she might as well be staring at a bunny chittering angrily at her. "Also, that was third grade! Totally different!"

"Who cares, the point is we'll be done with this and then we can study for those upcoming exams."

Armin exhaled a heavy sigh. Her argument was valid, Erwin promised that the tests would be extremely difficult and Armin had been studying for them for quite some time and he was still uncertain about it. However, what good would they get from it if they had tired themselves into exhaustion?

They'd fail.

"Don't worry Annie, we'll be fine. Working till we're dead from exhaustion won't help us. Now come on, we'll stop right here."

The blonde bit her lip as she watched him fix up the papers to prepare for bed. How was she going to avoid sleep now? An unfamiliar jittery feeling crawled through her skin as she slowly followed her boyfriend's instructions and reminders. Her heart beat faster and faster the more she thought of sleep. She had been fighting for a while and so far she managed to successfully avoid that horrible experience, but if she were to lie back in her bed with her head cushioned with her fluffy pillow, oh temptation would grab her. She's been struggling, forcing herself awake, doing things she normally didn't care for. Washing dishes when it was only a single plate, doing the laundry, cleaning the apartment two times over, playing a game, doing puzzles; anything to keep her from sleeping.

She even helped Reiner and Bertholdt with their stupid video game.

What was she going to do now? Her body sagged with relief at the prospect of a good night's rest, but she silently dreaded each step towards her bedroom. The warm comfort Armin's hand provided did little to ease her nerves. Her fingers raked over her hair over and over and her eyes would search and jump at unfamiliar shadows.

The moment Armin felt Annie lie beside him, he immediately caught the way her body went stiff and her breathing slightly escalate.

"Annie," he called, turning her over so that she would face him. "You okay?" he whispered, his eyes searching hers.

The shadows flying through her bedroom did well to hide her expression, but he could still feel the tension permeate from her. His hand caressed her cheek soothingly when she took her time in answering him, but Armin was patient. All he needed to know was if she was okay. He could see the fatigue weigh her down as he stared closer into her faint eyes.

Annie didn't trust her voice, so she settled with a stiff nod. Armin obviously wasn't satisfied with that, but he really wanted her to rest, her body would break down if she didn't. She would get sick.

"Just rest okay? I'm here."

She swallowed the lump in her throat before reaching up to lightly kiss his lips, trying in vain to calm herself.

"Okay." she whispered back, letting her head fall back on her pillow.

"Okay." he confirmed and cautiously allowed his eyes to close.

Annie fought against it, she fought hard, doing anything within her power to think of something troubling enough to make her stay awake. What would she do in the following week, what would she cook, what would she use to exercise with in the gym? Should she train with Eren or should she switch it up and challenge herself wih Mikasa? What about Armin, what about their assignment? How would they finish it, what would the presentation be?

She used any and everything to extend the hours and hope that dawn would arrive soon, but somewhere along the way, she had slipped.

She never felt her eyes close. She never realized she had fallen deep into slumber, didn't even feel herself blink; never felt a thing. It just happened and then like so many nights before, she awoke to that same ominous presence.

Icy blue eyes jolted awake, wide and confused.

'Oh no...' she dreaded as she felt her body seize under a strange weight. 'Not again.'

Her eyes looked around frantically for the shadow, knowing it was somewhere in the room staring down at her. But there was nothing but darkness. The window still spilled moonlight, but she was facing away from it, tucked into Armin's chest as he lay undisturbed.

Dead eyes raked over her body and her eyes tried to lock onto them. There it was, towering over her still form, watching her. She could see it at the corner of her eyes. It was standing at the side of the bed. A terrible pressure pressed down onto her, invisible hands, long and sharp, curled over her throat. Her pulse quickened, her heart palpitating furiously as once again she grew hot with rage, but she was useless. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak, she couldn't fight back.

'Armin!' she wanted to scream. Her watery eyes fearfully looking up at him. 'Armin!' she begged, her heart breaking.

His face never changed, his rhythmic breathing going on undistubed. He was sleeping, peacefully unaware of his beloved's turmoil.

'Wake up!' It felt as if her body was trembling, but she knew she was still paralyzed. She wanted so bad to move, to scream, to fight, but here she lay at the mercy of whatever it was that plagued her. She could have sworn this thing smiled, noticing how it cheekbones, or what she assumed were its cheekbones, rose in a malicious grin. The pressure increased and she almost felt pain, but her brain only seemed to recognize fear, a threat, but no pain.

The humming came back, whispering at a distance and gradually growing as that gap rapidly became smaller and smaller and the volume increased with each whir. She shut her eyes, too afraid to check if it was there. Her nerves tingled with life, she could finally move, but her muscles felt weak, exhausted as if she had exerted herself rigorously in a losing fight. When she realized her freedom, she clenched her fist, but there was nothing she could do to calm herself. That horrible feeling of hopelessness left her traumatized, she didn't want to wake up anymore, not to the shadows.

"Arm-Armin..." she whimpered pitifully, her voice hushed so low. "Armin..." she tried again, but she knew she was too quiet.

Sniffling back her tears, she shakily brought her hands out and tugged weakly at his clothes. She buried her face into his chest, sobbing slowly and silently. Her numb body began to tremble with each shuddering breath, she clenched her teeth trying hard to stop her irrational cries.

Her painful efforts began to slowly rouse the male awake, his eyes faintly opening and when he realized she was shaking, Armin jumped awake.

"Annie?" he whispered cautiously, his eyes struggling to clear up and adjust to the darkness. A small whimper answered him and he felt his heart drop and panic wash away the rest of his sleepy stupor.

His hand touched her shoulder gently coaxing her to part from his chest. He called out to her again, his voice soft and pleading, begging her to tell him what was wrong. She didn't answer and he quickly shuffled himself lower so that he was face to face with her.

The night was still young, but the ever present moon didn't help in revealing her face. He whispered to her, his thumb coming up to wipe away the trails of tears marring her usually stoic countenance.

"What's wrong?" he tried once more, bringing his lips to kiss her cold forehead, lingering there to try and make her relax in his grasp. "Annie."

She swallowed, her breaths becoming quick despite Armin's soothing touches. Her brain was jarred and confused, but the fear was still thick and she dared not look anywhere else that was not Armin's face. His eyes were wide with fear and she wonders if she looks anything like that. She tried to dodge him, wanting nothing more than hide in him until morning finally came.

"Annie," he whispered again, his voice soft. "What's wrong, Annie? Was it a nightmare?" he tried and now that she heard him say it, she thought it pretty childish if what she had been going through were in fact petty nightmares.

As soon as she considered it, she shook her head before she even knew why. Armin raised an eyebrow, hardly anything fazed Annie. What else could it be to cause her strong self to crumble into a small little girl?

"I... I-I was awake..." she muttered, her voice hoarse with how tense her muscles constricted around her wind pipe. "I couldn't m-move." More tears fell from her aching eyes as she tried to speak to him. "I couldn't scream..."

For a long moment, Armin's face was shadowed, his thoughts in a torrent as he tried to figure out what had happened, what she had just gone through, but he couldn't find an answer.

"There was someone here." she added, voice quivering and slim hands trying to pull him closer so she could hide in his shirt.

Armin froze, a moment of fear taking over him as he wondered if whoever had invaded her home was still around. Several minutes passed, the air still and the room quiet except for the occasional sniffle or hiccup. His accustomed eyes scanned the area, nothing was misplaced, the window still remained closed and there were no signs of the door having been opened. Thin walls told him no one else was in the building, no faint footsteps, no clinking of objects or the sound of shuffling clothes. it was just the two of them.

He slowly turned back to his unusually frightened girlfriend and let out a somewhat relieved sigh.

"Sleep paralysis." he concluded, tempting Annie to come out of her hiding place. Not wanting to speak, she tugged impatiently at his clothes.

Armin smiled, relaxing into his side and pulling her close to him, his arms squeezing her shoulders gently.

"It's an odd occurrence when one is just waking or falling asleep and they are unable to move or speak but are almost fully awake. It's also known to cause hallucinations." he explained, his hand rubbing soothing motions on the back of her head, his fingers threading softly through her disheveled hair.

His expression turned gentle as he tried his best to comfort her. "Could this be what's keeping you from sleeping?" he murmured softly.

Annie didn't answer immediately. She was slowly trying to process his words, trying to understand them.

Hallucinations? That's what the horrible creature was? Just her imagination? It all felt so real, the hand tightening over her throat, the pressure at her chest, that body hovering over her; the fear.

She exhaled a tired breath, snuggling closer into the boy to hide her elevating embarrassment.

"You're a strong girl, but you know I remember Mikasa going through the same thing a long time ago, when she had moved in with Eren after her parents died. She told me she cried all the time and would not go to sleep when she should and it kept happening. Eren got scared." he laughed at the memory of his friend telling him of ghosts and demons. "She told me that he would stay up with her, they were both convinced that a spirit haunted their home and then he got in this really big fight with his mother until finally, his father started talking to them about it."

Annie peeked up at him, silently prodding him to continue. His voice eased her, making her feel safe and slowly forgetting the frightening experience.

"Afterwards, Eren suggested they sleep together, like this." He gestured to their position, her head tucked into his neck and his arms curled over her smaller form. "Mikasa didn't want to, she said she never wanted to go to sleep ever again, but her ear was pressed up againt Eren's chest. Instead of counting sheep, she counted his heartbeat. Next thing she knew, Eren was trying to wake her up for breakfast."

"Sleep paralysis is rare and doesn't happen so often, but insominia can sometimes raise the chances of one occuring."

Silence fell over them, but neither of them were asleep. Annie was still holding onto him when her muffled voice reached him.

"Did it happen to you?" she asked quietly, her voice thick with exhaustion and Armin felt bad. She was still trying to fight sleep.

"Once, when I was a kid. I didn't even realize what was happening, but at the time Eren was sleeping over. I thought there was a shadow of someone at the doorway just standing there for a long while, but I just assumed Eren was getting up to go to the bathroom."

The blonde girl scoffed at him. "Who stands at the doorway like a creep?" she growled, her eyebrows furrowed in a grimace.

Armin chuckled lowly, the sound making his chest rumble and further soothe the girl in his arms. "Eren did a lot of weird things back then."

They were once again encased in silence, Annie trying hard to stay awake and Armin stroking her head and nuzzling into her, trying his best to rid her of her fears.

"Do you want to get up, talk about something else?" he asked.

Annie wanted to, but she was so tired, she feared she would fall asleep again without her notice and she didn't want to be apart from him if that thing happened again. She shook her head, her face burning with embarrassmet at her seemingly useless fears. She didn't realize how weak she would be when certain things were taken from her. How frail she actually was, how incredibly human she was to fall prey to dark shadows and strange noises knowing she couldn't even hope to fight back against such things.

Armin hugged her tighter, his lips grazing her ear. He didn't say anything more, only running his lips lazily over her from her temple to her cheek, his gentle breathing fanning over her unusually heated skin. Annie focused on it, calming herself with his steady heartbeat and his loving touches. One hand stroked her back while the other massaged her scalp. His eyes had closed shut, but he waited until he felt her stiff posture relax and melt into him and her breathing regulate.

She had fallen back asleep.

He smiled to himself, but kept himself awake, wanting to watch over her for the rest of the night so as to make sure she rested all throughout.

"Sweet dreams, Annie."

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N: Okay, this happened to me. It wasn't like how I described in the story, but close enough. I didn't cry, but that was purely because I was too terrified to even turn around in my bed, much less make any noise. Most terrifying moment in my life and I almost suffered not sleeping the following days (I was practically begging myself not to feel sleepy and was trying to think of ways to distract myself), but apparently nothing can keep my dear beloved away from me! I love you too much, Sleep! *Hugs a pillow* (*w*)**

 **Feel free to laugh, to this day I'm still terrified to sleep sometimes. I feel like Annie would crack under this sort of pressure. Mobility lost, an evil entity stepping closer and closer until its hands are choking and body pressing down on you, and all through it all you see and _feel_ it so clearly! You're awake and there's a stranger literally killing you and there's nothing, absolutely _nothing_ you can do to stop it. Seriously, that isn't scary? I beg to differ. **

**So now I feel well enough to work on my other stories! Yay! I'll still update this thing when a sudden AruAni idea pops up in my head and right now I have one begging to be typed, but I just hope it won't be so long. I wanted these to be short and sweet, or short and heartbreaking (maybe)? I'm failing miserably, I know. I'm so sorry! Anyway, hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Until the next update~**


	4. Mother and Child

**A/N:** ***Excitedly begins to type current chapter then suddenly laptop is taken by my sister for a whole day. Hence why this chapter's a day late. Lies in bed face down and cries* WHAT ABOUT MY ARUANI!?**

 **Yup. I'm too far gone to be saved. This pairing has me in too deep... (;~;) Oh and before you read, please, _please_ don't be too harsh. Well, you can be if you want I guess. I have no right to ask that, but I wanted to try something sweet, but uh... it wasn't simple... and this was poorly executed, so... um enjoy?**

 **#4. A Mother's Love.**

Small, faint pitter patters of footsteps run from a small room and rush down the stairs with small, chubby hands holding tight onto an old, thin but surprisingly big book. The child then quickly rounds a corner and into the kitchen where he finds his mother sitting alone on the small round wooden table. Small pants leave him as he collides against her side, his feet tip-toeing to wrap his small arms around her middle with his book squished in between.

The woman's eyes fly open as she is torn from her sleepy reverie and look down at the small thing. A smile barely makes its way onto her face as she picks him up.

She cradles him to her chest, her expression soft and gentle as she tucks his head under her chin with his cheek resting against her bosom. The boy immediately relaxes into his mother's embrace despite the loud sound of rattling and the chilling feeling of metal running faintly across the clothes on his back.

His voice is soft when he speaks, shy but excited. "Is Papa coming home today?" he asks carefully.

Annie hums, getting up from her place on the table to walk around the room with her head lying against the boy's. Her hand comes up to comb through the child's bright blond hair, her fingers petting down his tousled bed hair soothingly while the other secures him to her. Her smile soon falls as she closes her eyes and whispers to him.

"Do you want to go meet him on the way or wait for him?" she asks deciding to let him pick for once.

The boy stays silent for a moment, trying to figure out his mother's tone. He wanted to, but he didn't want to upset her by accident with his childish selfishness. She waits patiently for his answer and when he finally decides that it's safe, he nods his head.

"I wanna go." As if to try and make sure she's okay with it, he picks up his head and wraps his small arms firmly around her neck, face nuzzling further into her.

The woman's smile comes back, obviously noticing her son's worry.

"Then we'll go this afternoon." she states as she walks over towards the stove to fix him some breakfast. As she carefully brings him back to the floor, she spots the obvious book fall into his hands. "Is that the book you want your Papa to read you?"

He smiles wide with an excited blush. He nods his head quickly with a faint giggle. "Papa promised to read it for me when he comes back! And then, I have to read Papa a story!"

"Is it the one about the duckling?" she asks, already knowing the answer.

He nods again, his little body rocking back and forth as he dusts off imaginary dirt from the book's cover. "Mama?"

Annie glances at him briefly before gently nudging him towards the table so she can cook. "Yes?"

"Do your hands hurt today?" Bright, cool eyes lock on to the cuffs at her wrists, noticing the dark red welts stretch out from underneath the material in harsh straight lines.

Annie pauses momentarily, she looks down at her wrists before going back to the boy and kneeling down to his level. Her hands brush away his bangs and she kisses his cheek before answering. "No."

The boy only stares at her even as she gets back up and resumes her task. He fiddles with an edge of the book, eyes nervously staring at the floors as his mind ponders over his next question. "Mama, how come when Papa leaves Mama has to where metal?"

His words, though innocent and sweet, bite at her and she flinches; icy blue eyes wide and body tense. The boy catches this and he fears he has asked too much. Shuddering at the prospect of angering her, he quickly runs up to her leg and hugs it, head lowered and hair hiding his fearful and apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry." he mumbles, letting the book fall from his loose grip.

She shakes her head, but he doesn't see it. A painful stab of guilt pierces her chest as she breathes in slowly. Swallowing past the lump in her throat she kneels down once more to face him. She grabs his face from either side and looks him in the eye, careful not to show her distress.

"Let's just say Mommy got in trouble a long time ago, okay?" The boy nods his head, but his saddened look tells her he doesn't fully understand. "Now, go play and I'll call you when breakfast's done." She hugs him briefly and gives him his book before he darts back up into his room.

She is glad that Armin is coming home, but she doesn't look forward to going out without him. The chains connected to her wrists are too loud and the cuffs chafing her skin make it painful to do even the most simplest of tasks. Only when he returns, or if there is a guard to spare, is she allowed to be free of the restraints. She hates it. She hates having her son witness the results of her mistakes.

It also doesn't help that the great majority of the people know exactly who she is. Annie Leonhardt, the Female Titan.

Even though she hasn't used her powers in so long, she isn't even sure if she can still shift, no one has forgiven her. It was a struggle to even get her away from the MP's custody and avoid her execution, but the years to come haven't been kind. She was ridiculed, threatened and humiliated numerous times, yet through it all there were still a select few that had slowly come to forgive her. Armin being the first.

He had furiously fought to be her ward with the higher ups, stategically finding an answer for each and every concern of the request and though it was a long shot, he had succeeded. She didn't like it at first, thinking that he was just like everyone else and only seeing her as an object to be studied and researched. She even went as far as to hate him for a time, threatening him, lashing out at him; hurting him.

All because he wasn't like everyone else. He treated her almost the same as back in their trainee days. He tried helping in dressing her wounds when they were far too deep to heal properly, he fed her when she couldn't move. And when it had gotten to the point where Annie couldn't figure out what he was playing at, she yelled at him, demanding he tell her what he wanted, what he hoped to accomplish by breaking her.

She fought through her restraints and landed a solid punch straight into his face.

"Is it not enough I have to endure through your sick research? Having my limbs torn off and my insides bared isn't enough, Arlert? What more do you want, what do I have to do to make you leave me alone?"

At the time, she was near her breaking point. Isolated and clueless as to whether it was day or night, tortured in a sense with frequent experimentation and having several people interrogate her non-stop. Her brain had become rattled with mental fatigue and the stress of their work. She could no longer tell between someone actually wanting to converse with her and someone who only wanted more results from a lab rat.

"I only want to talk with you, Annie. Like before. No prodding, no scapels, no questions; just talk." he stated, getting up and taking her trembling hands. He had smiled almost lovingly at her as he eased her aching muscles. "After all, it is pretty lonely here. Everyone deserves one good friend at least. Even through troubling times."

"Even a murderer?" she asked vehemently. Armin didn't respond.

She didn't talk to him for a long time after that and Armin continued his one-sided conversations all the while having her free of cuffs and chains and instead, rubbing her sore flesh with a soothing ointment at each session.

Not long after, he had proposed to her, wanting her free of this pain if only a little. Annie was sure Armin suffered through many consequences by doing this, people judging him for all the wrong reasons and whispering behind him, but she knew he didn't care. Yet she had to wonder what made him even suggest this, having something as simple as pity was certainly not it.

She questioned him about it and he only smiled at her and stroked her cheek, both of them past the point of shyness. It was more of an arranged marriage, an event benefitting more for humanity than a union of love. Annie didn't mind, it was only a title of husband and wife, nothing more and nothing less. Her husband was still her ward.

However, further down the line Armin started to treat her differently. His hands lingered on her skin when he checked on her wrists. His voice began to hold a much softer tone to them when he spoke with her and his subtle touches seemed to stir something in her. Soon she found herself wanting to be around him more, wanted him to continue touching her hands longer than what was necessary and talking to her even if she sometimes didn't talk back.

It was slow and subtle, but soon Armin was kissing her when she slept and Annie snuggled closer until the gap that was usually between them ever since their marriage had closed up. She suddenly became dependent on his presence in order to have a restful sleep and Armin became despondent whenever he had to lock a pair of cuffs over her wrists before he left for more expeditions.

Soon after he had returned from one, he had craved for her. She was sleeping when he returned, having slept through the hollow rings of the giant bells. He didn't mind, he was tired and wanted nothing more than to join her in slumber. When he found her to be wide awake, however, he was honestly frightened. Her eyes glimmered brightly even through the darkness, staring at him silently as he lay beside her.

"I thought you were asleep!" he gaped as he tried to calm himself. As soon as he met her gaze again, something had shifted and he could suddenly see all her emotions dance through her glistening eyes. The last remnants of her pride holding fast to the liquid that brimmed her lids.

Wordlessly, without provocation, she embraced him. Her lips sought his and Armin could taste the desperation and sorrow clinging to her, aching to be solaced. Her arms hugged him and his hands freed her from the chains that bound her.

Annie didn't want to be lonely anymore, but Armin still had a job as part of the regiment.

It wasn't long when she gave birth to their son. Thankfully, Armin was granted a rare excuse from that day's work, but it was more to keep a watchful eye on his Titan Shifter wife. She was weak and exhausted, but her arms had never felt so strong when she held the unusually tiny newborn. Her fear had kept her from fainting. She was allowed a small moment to hold him, but they feared for his health since the boy had come prematurely.

The blonde woman smiled at the memory. She had reacted violently when they had taken her son from her and actually contemplated whether the child inherited her powers. She threw herself out of the bed despite her ordeal and threatened them, fully intent in murdering them should they even nick a single yellow hair from her child's head.

Needless to say he had come out healthy albeit a little quiet. He hardly ever cried except for the obvious diaper changes and hunger, but even then it was more like fussing whimpers than ear shattering wails.

"Mama, why are you laughing?" Annie looked down at the boy holding onto her fingers. He was smiling wide, his question curious but obviously happy at seeing his mother smile at herself. She wasn't really laughing, but to him, she may as well have.

She shook her head and tightened her hold around his small hand. "Mommy's just happy she's going to see Papa today." she answered dully, but it made the boy laugh happily.

"Will Mama read with Papa too?" he asked curiously, looking down at the book he brought along as they walked down the pavement through the busy marketplace.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Papa is better with his stories than me."

The boy gasped excitedly. "Then! M-maybe me and Papa will read to Mama!" he suggested, whispering as he never liked to raise his voice. Annie couldn't help the soft chuckle from passing through her lips.

"I suppose so. You and Papa haven't read to me in a long time." she pretended to think about it as the boy eagerly jumped with each step, using her hand as a leverage.

Annie suddenly became tense. They were coming to an old part of town where the cement held cracks and the buildings groaned painfully from their place. One particular lump of rocks, stone, and wood bore the brunt of time's course, having been around long before the Titans came along. It was a massive mansion that surpassed the height of the other buildings, once belonging to a wealthy man. Now, it was nothing more than abandoned rubble. A pillar at its side had several old cracks crumbling with dust. It's structure had grown poor with age and the people tended to steer clear of its range should it fall. Construction to repair its state was continually pushed further and further until there were simply too many other matters the workers had to tend to. So people were advised to avoid crowding the streets in case it fell apart.

But it was the only way towards where they would meet up with Armin.

She stopped beside a store far from its path as she contemplated what she should do. She hardly ever went this way, only forced to when she was summoned for certain tasks and even then she wouldn't allow her son to follow her, instead leaving him in the care of Mikasa or Eren should they be in town.

There were a lot of people roaming about it today as well, probably eager to greet family that survived another day.

"Mama?"

Once again she was jarred out of her thoughts and concerns.

The boy tugged eagerly at her hand, smiling up at her with questioning baby blue eyes. Annie couldn't find it in her to return it. She didn't feel safe going this way, but there were a lot of people going about unfazed; nothing had happened so far. She took a caustious step forward and squeezed her son's hand reassuringly. She wouldn't let him get hurt.

She walked briskly through the crowd, shoving her way past men and women alike, ignoring their cruel stares and whispers. Her eyes were set ahead to where a wagon was walking along the street with cargo, far at the other edge of the long and wide street. Once they made it there, they would be safe.

Her pace, however, was hard for the young four year old to follow. He had to jog to keep up with her and in the midst of the crowd he had bumped into someone and dropped his book. He gasped and abruptly let go of Annie's hand, rushing back to pick it up before a careless foot stomped on it.

Annie snapped her head around, eyes wide as she tried to find the boy hidden in the flock of moving bodies. She shouted out for him, her voice loud and booming over the vast chatterings of mixed voices. Watchful women pulled their children aside in her frantic search and she shoved through grown men as her eyes scoured the area fearfully.

"Mama!"

She gasped when she caught him sitting on the ground with his book clutched to his chest. His eyes were brimming with fearful tears as he looked around frantically at the herd of people moving all around him, all of them strange and intimidating.

"Mama!" His cry was soft even in a fit of confusion, his eyes blind and pouring with tears. One moment he was right beside her, the next he was suddenly surrounded by people giving him terrifying glares and shouting at him to get out of the way. In his haste to find his mother he had tripped over his feet and scraped his hands and knees.

A stifled whimper left him as he tried to get up on wobbly legs. "Mama!" he cried, blindly heading for the old building.

A hand thrust out to grab at his wrist, but the chains linking one another made her a length shy and the force of her lunge made her stumble and fall. Her head crashed into the cracked cement, the blunt _thud_ startling the boy. He gasped, his little heart hammering hard in his thin chest. He couldn't even call her from his harsh and panicked breathing. He dropped down to her and tried pulling her up.

"M-Ma-Mama!"

Head jarred and senses dazed, Annie blindly pulled him to her, her arms wrapping around him defensively as if she were protecting her nape. She couldn't muster enough sense to scold the boy as they clung to each other, she just held him and tried to shush his weeping. Gentle fingers swiped over his flushed cheeks and not a single person stopped to help even as her head bled from her fall. The chains rattled noisily against each other, grating her nerves further.

Sighing harshly, she picked him up, taking the extra time to secure his book under one arm.

As she turned to continue down the road and enter the winding stairs something small and sharp whistled through the air. Annie barely had enough time to see it coming before swiftly turning and taking the hit. The stone struck the area just above her right eyes, slicing her skin and spilling her blood. She hissed angrily before turning to face her assailant.

A group of older boys no older than ten laughed loudly at her as they scrambled into the bustling crowd.

The boy in her arms stuffed his face into her shoulder, trying to muffle his sobs. She shushed him again, gently stroking his hair as she whispered for him to calm down.

"You're a big boy. Shhhh..." she murmured, rocking him back and forth. She heard him sniffle and felt him nod against her soaked shirt.

That's when she felt her body stiffen, the hair at her neck rising eerily as an animalistic instinct stirred inside her. She froze at the feeling, wondering why it was so intense.

And then a low, faint groan reached her heightened hearing. Her first instinct was to run far from the creaking building, but there was still a crowd trying to get through and reach the scouts. It would be too late. Others walking more slowly seemed to catch the building's dying moans and hustled into getting out of the way, shouting at the others frantically as a hefty portion fell from one of the mansion's pillars.

And Annie stood directly below it.

Before she could even _think_ of what to do, her hand met her mouth and the next moment the taste of blood accompanied with a rush of adrenaline filled her.

She wasn't even aware of what she had done before the screams reached her.

'What...?'

It had been so long since she had last looked through the eyes of a giant. Her wide, unstable gaze scanned the dispersing and panicking crowds, her body stiff and still and unusually heavier than she last remembered it.

Her head stiffly rose to look at her side and it was then she realized her hunched over body had stopped the pillar from crashing into the neighboring structures as well as the people running haphazardly below her.

The Female Titan then snapped her attention directly below her thighs. There clutching at her foot and suffering from slight burns was her little boy crying at all the confusion and chaos that had exploded so abruptly.

'No, no, no, no...' she thought warily.

Though frazzled and confused herself, Annie remained calm and sat frozen; keeping her hands onto the crumbling pillars and trying hard not to let large pieces fall down at the crowd below.

Small grunts and ragged breaths left her as she pleaded internally for someone to grab her son.

"Everyone clear a way for the Scouts!" a man bellowed as he rode on towards the female. "Evacuate immediately!"

Annie remained still, her eyes following the man as his horse halted directly in front of her.

"Hey kid! Get over here! _Now!_ " The man jumped off the beast and sprinted for the boy huddling beside her foot.

Seeing the strange man coming straight for him, the boy screamed; his high pitch wails reaching his mother's ears. Annie flinched, her arms wanting nothing more than to grab the boy and calm him, to have him safe in her arms, but if she let go of the stone structure, it would crush him along with anyone else still lingering around.

" _Mama!_ " he gasped, burrowing his face into her warm flesh. " _Mommy!_ " And she caught him looking up at her, his finger pointing fearfully at the Scout trying to grab him. Her heart ached and her maternal instincts screamed at her to pick him up and keep him away from the approaching male. But all she could do was narrow her eyes at him, silently pleading with him to get away from her.

The man grabbed his arm and tugged him effortlessly under his arm. Her son's book fell from his loose grip and she heard him cry out louder for her, his shrieks no doubt hurting his small throat.

He threw his fists hard against the man's back screaming for him to let him go. Annie was so distracted with her confliction, she didn't even feel wires sink into her flesh.

"Leonhardt! What's the meaning of this?" a loud voice shouted from her shoulder.

Wrong name. But she didn't bother turning her head, her eyes were still glued onto the man taking away her son.

" _Leonhardt!_ Come out of there right now!"

Annie shook herself agitatedly, her hair slapping the soldier off balance. As he whirled himself from her, he shouted out a command, "Everyone, ready your weapons!"

"Wait! Stand down!" another voice shouted and Annie paused for a moment. "Annie! Annie, what happened?" Armin shouted at her, throwing himself off his horse and hurling himself up until he landed directly into her face. "Annie, where's our son!"

She huffed at him, her eyes burning with such fury, Armin faltered from his place.

Not wasting anymore time, Annie twisted around to crush the pillars over the decaying mansion until it was safely away from the vicinity of the streets and the people. As soon as her hands were free she shook her head lightly, a strong command that Armin should get off or move.

A cry grabbed her attention and all eyes fell on the man who was now clutching his hand. "That little runt- _hey!_ "

Before he could reach out again, Annie's hand struck out and stopped him, separating the two.

The boy immediately staggered over to hug her cupped hand and bury his face away from everyone.

Armin sighed heavily before jumping down to retrieve the boy.

"P-Papa..." he mumbled when he felt his father's hand grab him by the sides. "Mama..." he asked softly, his voice raspy and weak.

"She's coming. She's coming." The blond male jogged back to the slowly decaying body as every other Scout member and their wagons stopped in the area.

His eyes followed the small crowd of men hovering over the Titans nape. Armin kept his hand on the boy's head, keeping him from seeing what was happening.

"Bring her down here!" he commanded harshly, his eyebrows pulled tight in a glare. Hearing his father shout so angrily made the boy flinch and hide further into his dirtied uniform.

There were a series of shouts before the child heard a familiar pained grunt in back of him. He gasped and slithered out of father's grip to hurry on over to where his mother lay hunched over her knees with a gag in her mouth and her wrists bound with fatter, heavier chains.

"Mommy!"

Annie welcomed the small weight colliding into her. She felt him shake with his sobs as he buried his face deep into her hot and damp clothes.

"Shhhh... Shhhh..." she soothed through the uncomfortable cloth, her head leaning against his. She took the time to try and look over his body. There were tears in his clothes and there were patches of red where steam from her erupting body had seared him, leaving welts and blisters. "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..." she chanted ruefully.

"I wanna go home." he begged through her shoulder. "Can we go home? Mama, please?" he cried trying to hug her closer, but the men restraining her kept her from lifting her torso to allow such a simple act.

"Annie..." At the sound of her name, she lifted her gaze up into her husband's. He looked pained and she knew what was to come next. She nodded her head, but continued to soothe her little boy.

"Commander?"

Armin shook his head at the men, coming forward to take the chains from the man and gently signaling his beloved to stand with a gentle squeeze to her shoulder. She coughed at the rough texture of the fabric choking past her tongue. With a few quick clips he loosened the links, allowing Annie to take the boy into her arms.

"They're probably going to restrain you to the house." he murmured, coming closer to take away the gag.

"I don't care." she snapped, content with just holding the trembling child to her chest. "I did what I had to."

"I know." he whispered. "I think they'll understand, there doesn't seem to be any deaths and it looks like you handled yourself well. But, I didn't know you were still able to shift after so long."

He heard her scoff and turned from him, wanting nothing more than to tend to the child in her arms. She ended the discussion by whispering in the boy's ear, making promises while looking over his body to examine the full extent of his injuries.

"Come on. We'll go home for now, afterwards I'll have to go report what's happened."

The horses and wagons trudged onward towards their destination.

"Why didn't you run away, sweetie?" she hummed curiously in the toddler's ear. He sniffled and mumbled a little whine.

"Hmm?" she urged lightly, kissing his head.

Armin listened in, holding the chains loosely while listening in to their conversation.

"Mommy would've been fine." she continued. Her voice no lower than a whisper as she spoke, making sure no one aside from Armin could hear her. "Mommy didn't want to hurt you."

"I don't wanna leave..." he mumbled with a growing pout. "I don't wanna leave Mama..." His face crumbled under his words as he let out a whimper.

Annie sighed, more frustrated at herself than anything. Her hands pat down his hair and massaged his scalp. "You won't." she muttered.

"I won't leave her either." Armin added, patting his son's head lightly as the boy looked up at him. "And you too. I still have to read to you and then you promised to read to me, remember?"

He nodded his head, the quivering pout still on his face. "And Mama too."

"And Mama too." he chuckled, ruffling his hair and sneaking a kiss onto Annie's cheek.

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N:** **Oh my word, what did I just type!? This is the first and last time I ever write a family sort of thing! Mostly 'cause I'm horrible at it and secondly I'm not sure if I can really see Annie as a motherly figure. I feel like I made her too soft. Also, I purposely didn't name the child because, pfft I can't think of names for OC's and more importantly I hate using OC's. This is a one time deal. Maybe.**

 **Until the next embarrassing update~!**


	5. Sick

**A/N:** **Seriously, you guys have no idea how happy you made me with your reviews! Thank you so much! Although, I must warn you, everyone is OoC here. It's completely dialogue only, so use your imagination. I got sick again, so I couldn't really focus on this too much. Based partially on actual events.**

 **#5. You can't Fight Love.**

"Come on, Annie. It's just two small shots."

"No."

"Please? For me?"

"I'd rather die."

"Annie, please?"

"No. Go away."

"I'll take it with you?"

"Go eat a duck."

"You know that's normal, right?"

"Duck off, Reiner."

"A-Annie, I don't think you should talk..."

"You too, Bertholdt."

"Okay, okay that's enough. Annie, you need to take the medicine, it's not that bad."

"Over my dead, rotting body, Arlert. Get that crap away from me."

"I really didn't want to do this... Reiner, Bertholdt..."

"What are you doing?"

"N-nothing."

"We're just getting comfy."

"Sitting beside me in a small bed is far from comfortable for your fat asses."

"No, no. It's actually quite- GET HER BERTHOLDT!"

"Annie, calm down! Please!"

"A-Armin! Hurry! She's slipping!"

"Bertl, you really need to stop sweating at every pressing matter. Seriously man, is that a condition?"

"Reiner..."

"Hey I'm just- _OW!_ She bit me!"

"Annie! Bertholdt, don't let her go!"

"I can't! I can't do this! Her bites hurt! Look! Reiner's bleeding!"

"Bertholdt, no! Annie!"

"Get that nasty red crap away!"

"Annie, your fever's going to get worse! Please, just drink it real quick and it'll all be over! I swear!"

"I'll bite you, Arlert."

"Please, just take it."

"No way in hell."

"I swear Annie, I'll get Mikasa."

"Bring it, blondie."

"Annie!"

"Hey, you're blonde too, sweetie."

"So are you, Reiner."

"Not the point, Bert."

"Ugh, we're getting no where. Annie, it's been two hours! You're coughing, your nose is stuffed up, your fever's going haywire! You won't even taste it, I swear! Just take the medicine and we'll leave you to rest! Please!"

"No. No. And for the final time, no. Doesn't matter how ducked up you are, you'll always taste the hellish concoction of nature's period."

"How many time's are you going to use duck? Honey, seriously, you're messed up. Take the medicine."

"A-and your language... Annie please..."

"Suck it, Bert."

"Whatever, Annie look at me! If you think your loving brothers and questionable pet, are going to leave you here to die a slow and agonizing death, you've got another thing coming."

"If you really, _really_ loved me, you would get out of my room and stay out for the next thousand years."

"You're just feverish, Annie. You don't mean that and what about Armin? You love him! He's like your manipulative little kitten! What if he dies out of loneliness, huh? What are me and Bert-I mean we! What are _we_ gonna do without another sweet blondie?"

"Okay, who's sick here; me or you?"

"Don't change the subject."

"I'll kick you. I swear to all three walls I will."

"Okay, how did we get from medicine to walls? What walls are you talking about anyway? Wal-Mart? Oh! You wanna go to Wal-Mart!"

"I don't know, ask the sixty meter giant right there."

"Annie, I really think you should take the medicine. You're speaking nonsense."

"I'm cold."

"Alright look, at least drink some water. Here."

"No."

"Aw- _what!_ Annie, it's just water!"

"I don't care."

"Alright, that's it."

"Arlert."

"..."

"Armin?"

"..."

"Finally! Now I can- _Mmmmfff!"_

"Whoa."

"Is he allowed to do that?"

"I don't know. A part of me says no and we should stop it, but then this other part says it's completely fine. Oh but then again, he might get sick."

"W-well I kinda get a feeling that... Um. How should I say it?"

"What, that he's going to die a horrible, horrible death once she gets better?"

"No, but that is a possibility. A small possibilty."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well they're still... you know..."

"Oh. Yeah. Uh, Armin? Hey, I-I think she drank it. I think she's good. Armin? Annie?"

"Reiner. Reiner, I think we should leave..."

"Seriously?"

"It doesn't look like they're going to stop anytime soon."

"True, but shouldn't we draw a line somewhere?"

"She's with Armin, I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh my- They're stripping! Let's go!"

"Hey! We're still here you morons!"

"When the hell did Annie lose her shirt?! B-Bra! _BRA!_ "

"AHHH! His undies! His undies brushed _RIGHT_ past me!"

 _"LEAVING! LEAVING RIGHT NOW!"_

 **-X-X-X-**

 **A/N:** **I hate medicine. I hate it so much. Goodnight, and hopefully I'll have another, semi-longer one-shot up for you tomorrow.**

 **Till Then...**


	6. Eternity

**A/N:** **Seriously, am I the only one who confuses Armin's and Annie's names when reading stories? Please say I'm not...**

 **#6. Nothing lasts Forever.**

"I wonder how we missed this." a low, hollow voice murmured with a pained, wheezing laugh. "Of course, we are talking about you, Annie. You never fail to surprise us." He laughed again, running his bleeding hand over the once clean and sparkling crystal. He hisses from a particularly sharp stab of pain. "I... I guess I should say me... Hey, Annie..." he hummed, his bloodied hand still caressing the cool surface of her temporary prison.

"How long did you think you would stay there? Did you know of this? Were you only biding your time? Waiting until you could escape among all the chaos?"

Armin coughed a little as the torch he held in his other hand flickered at the harshness. His face was bruised and his skin was peeled in several places from scratches and gashes. Blotches of purple, red and blue now colored his skin, but he still held fast onto whatever life continued to burn inside him.

His eyes continue looking from here to there, taking in details many have already recorded.

"They're dead you know. Everyone except for me, well..." an airy chuckle left him as he slowly shook his head, tears threatening to blind his already fading sight. "E-Eren and Mikasa might still be alive somewhere. I'm sure they are, actually. He's a Titan and Mikasa, well she'll be wherever Eren is. Keeping him safe. I'm certain-" he struggled to swallow past the lump in his throat, a hand coming up to wipe at his face angrily. "I'm certain they're okay. They'll make it through this. They're strong."

A low groan rumbles through the underground prison and Armin shudders as fear continues to shake his already trembling bones. He sighs, his ears straining to hear past the rumbles and creaking of wood and rock. Small particles of dust crumble from the ceiling and he huddles close to the crystal as if she could ease his nerves, even though they're only getting worse as the minutes tick by.

"A-anyway, I don't know if you're alive or not, but at least I won't be alone for long, huh? Your crystal, it's thinned a bit since I last came here. You know... before..." He swallows again, his vision becoming blurred with the hot tears now spilling past his lids. Carefully, gently, he touches his head to the cool surface, resting his weary soul against her as he slowly becomes undone. His uniform is tattered and torn and dirty with mud and blood, there are other signs of odd stains as well, but they've long since dried to even begin to decipher.

"My gear broke right before I managed to escape down here." he whimpers out, his chest heaving to try and contain his emotions, but its useless. His tears are falling faster and he swears he can still hear the screaming going on outside despite it being so quiet down where they keep Humanity's traitor. "My leg is broken, Annie. My swords have all broken, I can't fight back..."

A loud sniffle startles him and it makes him laugh even though the twitching of his body disturbs his mangled leg and torn flesh. "You'll survive." he giggles, fruitlessly wiping away at his tears and snot. "You always do. Your prison is slowly evaporating, I wonder, can you hear me? Do you know what's happening right now? Are you aware?"

He smiles an uneasy grin as a chill crawls through him.

"I'm sure saying 'I'm scared' would be an understatement. I mean... w-who wouldn't be? W-well maybe you, I guess. You're a shifter, you can climb. You can run. You'll escape, you'll live..." A sob tears at his parched and aching throat and he whimpers like a lost child.

"Jean's dead, Conny's dead... H-he tried protecting Sasha and... and ..." Another sob cracks his voice. "I don't know how I got separated from them... I-I... I don't even know how I'm even here..."

"Will..." He takes a small breath, trying to calm himself down. He doesn't even know what he's trying to talk about anymore. "Will you go back with them? Bertholdt and Reiner?"

He tries wiping his eyes once more. "I'm sorry I don't know what's become of them. I'm sorry."

Glossy, red and puffy blue eyes finally lift themselves to gaze painfully at the girl suspended within the giant chunk of diamond. He groans as he moves closer, his head throbbing and his leg pulsing with each excruciating movement. Sweat mingles with old and new blood alike, exposed pink flesh becomes soiled with grains of dirt and his nerves scream, lighting a fire that has long since become dimmed from his conscience.

More blood is smeared on her and each time, Armin feels his lungs flutter with each breath and his head becomes lighter and lighter.

"My poor grandfather..." he mourns suddenly. "I hope you weren't alone..." he cries softly as he rests his head against her once more. "I should hate you Annie... I shouldn't feel bad for what I've done to you... But I do... I regret what I've done even though it was for the best." He pauses for a moment only to laugh again. "Well, I... I guess 'best' isn't the word I'm looking for, huh? Look at us now, it certainly doesn't look like the best."

His tears are still pouring from him, pounding his head and constricting his throat to the point where he has to cough to open it up. Yet, despite the obvious pain and discomfort, Armin begins to relax.

"I'm sorry, Annie. I'm sorry."

The silence that follows for what feels like hours doesn't deter the boy as he begins to let go of his muscles. The blood bleeding out of open wounds starts to slow and to Armin, it almost feels like relief. He can't feel his leg anymore.

Lazy, blinded eyes roll back to the blurring silhouette as he lies against her, his cheek feeling pleasant against the contrasting temperature.

"I wanted to at least be awake-" he coughs again, cutting him off. "A-at least until you got free..." The smile he tried to muster dies as soon as his lips quiver.

"We-we promised we'd be together..." he whimpers as his slow breathing picks up, slightly panicked. The image of his friends pulls at his heart, feeling terrified of the prospect of loneliness. "I don't want... I don't want to be alone..." he sobs loudly, his hands coming up, shaking violently to try and calm himself.

"There's nothing left, Annie..."

Another rumble shakes the ground. More dust falls on him and the girl.

"There's nowhere to go anymore. There's no one I can go to... Except for you."

There's a subtle sound of a crack, but Armin doesn't pay it any mind.

"My head hurts. I'm-I'm so tired." His eyes are becoming heavy and a small smile, light and fragile, begins to quirk his lips upward. "Is this how you felt, Annie?" His voice is hushed into a whisper that he can't even begin to raise it. "When Eren caught you? When we were so close to trapping you? Were you tired?"

"It's hard to stay awake, isn't it? When the world is suddenly against you like this..." His words are coming together, slurred and slow.

"I think... I think I understand you a little bit more, Annie." His smile slowly grows. "And... you know..." A breath suddenly becames hard to take in. "D-despite what you've done... I still consider you a friend."

"I still want to see you as a good person." A forced chuckle grates him. "Humans are really," He can't keep his eyes open anymore. "They're really, finicky creatures, aren't they? We don't know what we want. We just want to live, but then we'll ask; what for?"

Annie doesn't respond. Armin only smiles as he feels his tears stop and his pain melt away. He breathes a grateful sigh of relief at the ease and leans further into the shrinking crystal-like rock.

"I don't want to die, but if I have to," He moves his head upwards as if to show he's looking at her. "If I really have to, I'm glad I'll have someone beside me." Annie's silence comforts him, but he doesn't know why. Armin isn't sure of anything.

"It's late." he murmurs, dropping the torch and killing its light. "Goodnight... Annie..."

* * *

Hours go by. Annie finally opens her eyes and she finds herself lying on the cold, still floor with a weight on her thighs. Slowly, she brings herself up and a short startled gasp makes her jump at the sight before her.

Armin's head is on her, using her as a sort of pillow. She doesn't know why her arms become urgent with anxiety, but they cradle his head, turning him slightly. Fingers gently press at his neck, searching for a pulse.

Her eyes widen and tears pool at the corners, she doesn't know why she feels this way, but reason has lost her. She looks at his chest and the agonizing emotions break through her walls and warm tears escape in silent sobs as she hugs him. Her hands are shaking and her cries are soft as she strokes his messy hair and whispers things she doesn't understand.

She stays that way, waiting patiently for something she doesn't quite know.

When at last she feels she can get up, she hauls Armin alongside her. Gently, she maneuvers him until his chest is on her back and his arms are slung limply over her small shoulders. His blood bleeds through her clothing and smears her hands and face. She doesn't mind, doesn't care that he's just a bit more heavier than she can last remember. In fact, Annie isn't even sure what she should care about at the moment. Her head is fuzzy with memories that can't sort themselves and emotions she doesn't understand force her heart to beat faster along with her flowing tears.

Words from voices mingled together run through her mind; words she can't comprehend and voices too distorted for her to name.

Her feet begin to move, her hands holding tight to the male on her back, his feet dragging behind her. Her mind whirs into a white static, silencing the voices begging and demanding her for answers, shutting out all the steel that have tried to break her and ignoring that small voice that only spoke beautiful nonsense.

A smile, pained, regretful, sad, appears on her as she continues on towards the exit of this hellish world.

"When we get there, I'll wake you up." she whispers so quietly, it looks as if only her mouth is moving, but no sound is heard. "You... said you wanted to see the ocean right?" she asks the boy, not expecting an answer. "I think I can take you there. And then I can go home."

The silence hurts, her chest tightens as she thinks of her friends, allies; her family.

"We'll go home."


End file.
